William Fox (9 August 1813 – 1881) was an English clergyman and

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

who worked on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

and made some significant discoveries of dinosaur fossils. The Reverend William Fox was born in Cumberland on 9 August 1813. He moved to the Isle of Wight in 1862 to take up the post of curate at the Parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Brixton (now known as Brighstone). He resigned his post in 1867 but continued to live in the area to carry on his collecting. In 1875, he became curate of nearby Kingston, near Shorwell.p15 The Complete Dinosaur by James Orville Farlow, M. K. Brett-Surman Although lacking formal scientific training Fox was remarkably astute and discussed his findings with eminent palaeontologists of the day including John Hulke (1830-1895) and Sir

Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils. Ow ...

(1804-1892). Fox had easy access to Brighstone Bay from his home, Myrtle Cottage in Brighstone, and so spent many an hour collecting fossils, much to the detriment of his pastoral work; in fact, it was said of him at the time, by the wife of the vicar, that it was "always bones first and the parish next". He is also quoted as having written in a letter to Owen "I cannot leave this place while I have any money left to live on, I take such deep icin hunting for old dragons". He died in 1881 aged 68 or 69. In 1882 Fox's collection of more than 500 specimens was acquired by the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

after his death. Fox is credited with the finding of several species, most described by his friend Owen, and named by him after their finder. These include '' Polacanthus foxii,

Hypsilophodon ''Hypsilophodon'' (; meaning "''Hypsilophus''-tooth") is a neornithischian dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of England. It has traditionally been considered an early member of the group Ornithopoda, but recent research has put this ...

foxii, Eucamerotus foxi,

Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the late Jurassic Period to the early Cretaceous Period of Asia, ...

foxii'', ''

Calamosaurus ''Calamosaurus'' (meaning "reed lizard") was a genus of small theropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. It is based on two cervical vertebrae (BMNH R901), collected by Reverend Will ...

foxii'' (formerly ''Calamospondylus'') and '' Aristosuchus''.

Confusion with William Darwin Fox

There is considerable confusion between Fox and his more celebrated contemporary the similarly named Rev. William Darwin Fox (23 April 1805 - 8 April 1880) who was also an amateur scientist and lived and worked on the Isle of Wight at the same time. William Darwin Fox is sometimes ascribed the credit for early dinosaur discoveries. However William Darwin Fox was noted for his geological work, and entomology, but is not recorded as having any particular interest in dinosaurs.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, William 19th-century English Anglican priests English palaeontologists 1813 births 1881 deaths Parson-naturalists